What can be cuter than a baby turtle? A baby turtle on a turtle tower?
We can see many similarities in the world of turtles and art. For example, there are many varieties of turtles to consider. Everything from a sea turtle to a creek turtle to the common pet store turtle variety. How we think about turtles and art differ with each category.
Likewise, some art is common, some art is rare, and some art is an endangered species.
I started exploring turtles as a theme to help lend support to one of my more unusual pitchers I created while in residency at the Dougherty Arts Center in Austin, Texas. Rather than an ugly support, I thought of the expression “Turtles all the way down” as I first heard it from Stephen Hawking’s A Brief HIstory of Time.
“Turtles all the way down” summary: Roughly put, this phrase talks to a system that depends on the same kind of system to support it as it is supported by the same system ad infinitum. As much as I love art and talking about art, I do recognize the tendency of the art world to have a “turtles all the way down” mentality.
My least favorite turtle support for art to stand on is the dark and brooding past or connection to some difficult topic that might be in season. Even my teenage daughter rolls her eyes at the cliched grimdark character who has the gritty back story filled with tragedy. It is truly as bad as the Mary Sue for whom all things turn out rosy.
I prefer art to be a guidepost or a landmark that lets the weary traveler know where one can land for safe harbor. When art celebrates the world such as it is, it takes the toxic nature of pessimism and forced optimism out of the equation. It allows us to note the good and bad around us so that we can engage in our world in an authentic manner. Here, through thoughtful work, we can be reminded what it means to be whole.
Because what happens when the bottom turtle starts to move?
